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Groundwater Contamination Due to Activities of an Intensive Hog Farming Operation Located on a Geologic Fault in East Mediterranean: A Study on COD, BOD5 and Microbial Load

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Abstract

The application of treated animal wastewater produced in intensive fog farming operations (IHFOs) on surface soil, leads to groundwater contamination. In this study, the contamination of a Mediterranean aquifer caused by long-term application of treated wastewater, produced by an IHFO, on a plot with a geologic fault within the IHFO boundaries, was investigated. Groundwater samples were taken from monitoring wells close to the IHFO. A significant increase of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total viable count (TVC) and total coliform (TC) concentrations was found in wells, compared to control monitoring well, which were mainly affected by the subsurface flow of contaminated water, due to the presence of the geologic fault. During the winter, significant increases in concentrations of COD, BOD5, TVC and TC were noted and attributed to increased precipitation, which assisted in the accelerated transport of organic compounds and microbial load, through geologic fault, to groundwater.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Str., 157 80, Athens, Greece

    Charalampos Michalopoulos, Nikolaos Tzamtzis & Stylianos Liodakis

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  1. Charalampos Michalopoulos
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  2. Nikolaos Tzamtzis
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  3. Stylianos Liodakis
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Correspondence to Nikolaos Tzamtzis.

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Michalopoulos, C., Tzamtzis, N. & Liodakis, S. Groundwater Contamination Due to Activities of an Intensive Hog Farming Operation Located on a Geologic Fault in East Mediterranean: A Study on COD, BOD5 and Microbial Load. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 96, 229–234 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1635-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1635-0

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